A/N: I own nothing.
"I'm so sorry Gabe, everything we went through…I'm just sorry. I guess it's just-"
"Not enough." Dean interrupted Jane, gently pushing on her shoulders before cupping the strong jawline of the brunette who stood in front of him. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders, as Jane's eyes searched his. "I know Jane…it just wasn't enough. It's okay." The corner of Jane's mouth twitched up into an apologetic half smile, her dark eyes sorrow-filled as she was pulled into Gabriel's arms once again.
Jane's body exhaled a deep sigh, and she turned her head against his chest. "I'm sorry I couldn't talk to you about it. It just…it made it all so real."
Dean pulled back, giving her a sympathetic smile. "I know. It was easier for us to ignore it. But it was never really me that you could open up to." Upon seeing Jane's eyes dart around the room, unfocused and searching, he cleared his throat and stepped back, shoving his hands down in the pockets of his jeans. "Now, I'm going to go. I think there's some things you and Maura need to sort out. I'll have my stuff out of here by next weekend." Jane opened her mouth to object, but Gabriel held up his hand. "It would be better for both of us if I left sooner than later. We always worked better together as friends anyway." He laughed half-heartedly, before leaning forward to place a kiss on Jane's cheek. Gabriel Dean moved across the room, putting a hand on the door and turned back to Jane. She looked up at him guiltily, realizing how much she had contributed to the neglect in their relationship.
"Jane, don't let her get away this time. She came back for a reason. Don't give up on her. You deserve to be happy." Smiling at her once again, Gabriel cast a last look at her before exiting the room.
Jane was perched on the far side of her bed, her long legs spread with her elbows resting on her thighs, head in her hands. Her long, dark mane of curls spread around her bowed head like a curtain, shielding her from the light in the room. It wasn't supposed to happen this way. But he was right, nothing about their relationship was supposed to happen the way it did. Technically, their relationship shouldn't have even began in the first place. Jane sighed heavily, moving one hand through her hair, pushing the dark locks back from her forehead, before settling her head back down in her hands. He was right about everything. Gabriel had finally said all of the things that she had already known, but had refused to acknowledge. So much had happened in the past year that she never envisioned happening in her life. Shooting her best friend's father, getting pregnant from a one night stand, Maura walking out of her life, losing the baby…Jane stared blankly at the floor, unblinking and lost in her thoughts.
A knock at the door caused Jane to flinch. "Jane?" Maura's voice filtered under the crack in the bedroom door, causing a familiar surge to ripple through the detective's body. It was that same feeling she got whenever she heard the medical examiner's voice, almost as if her heart had butterflies. It was this sensation that caused her to begin to question her feelings for her best friend before she realized that she felt more than friendship for Maura. "Jane, can I come in?"
Jane nodded, her face hidden under her mass of hair, before realizing Maura couldn't see her. "Yeah," she answered quietly, not sure if Maura had actually heard her or not. A hand on her shoulder made her flinch again, and Maura's cool scent permeated her senses.
"Oh, Jane." Maura's slim hand squeezed Jane's shoulder softly, her fingers pressing into the tissue in a gentle massage. Jane's hand went to cover Maura's, the strong, work roughened hand touching smooth skin underneath her own. She slowly brought her head up, dark strands falling away from her face, and she pushed up with a great deal of effort.
"I've uh, Ma and Frankie…"
Maura stood next to her, her heels giving her added height next to the lanky woman, and she reached out, wrapping her fingers around Jane's wrist. "Angela and Frankie left just after…" Maura's voice trailed off, for once not trusting her words. She was treading in unknown waters, and she knew that she had to be, first and foremost, there for her friend. It didn't help that Jane Rizzoli was the first female that she had really developed a friendship with, and she didn't want her feelings for Jane to overshadow the need for her to be a friend to the brunette right now.
Jane nodded silently, settling back down onto the bed. Maura fidgeted with the bunched fabric of her dress, before becoming consciously aware of her nervous habit and dropped her hands to her sides.
"Is there anything I can do, Jane?" she asked helplessly, resisting the urge to gather the detective in her arms. Maura had always been able to read Jane, but when she had come to terms with her feelings for her, they began to cloud her ability to know what Jane was feeling. That's why she was surprised when Jane reached up to grasp onto her hand gently pulled Maura down to sit on the bed beside her.
Moments went by in silence, neither woman making any noise.
"Stay." Jane's voice had dropped so low that it cracked as she uttered her request. Brown eyes searched hazel, and Jane's head fell heavily down on Maura's shoulder. Maura leaned her own head down to rest atop Jane's before bringing her arm up to drape across Jane's upper back, and her hand came to rest on the pile of curls nestled under her chin.
"Of course I'll stay." The two women sat like that for a few more minutes before Jane jumped to her feet. Maura's head jerked up at the sudden loss of contact, and Jane began rummaging through her drawers.
Maura stood and walked over to the woman, who was frantically searching through the dresser drawers. "Jane, is something wrong?"
Jane pulled out a pair of yoga pants and a baggy teal t-shirt that Maura instantly recognized as belonging to her. "Well, I know how you feel about working in a wrinkled dress…"
Tears sprung to her eyes as Maura took the offered items from Jane. "Aw, Jane, you kept them?"
Jane smiled and shrugged casually, before pulling out a pair of shorts and a tank top for herself. "I always hoped you'd remember and come back." Her back was turned to the honey blonde, whose eyes widened and filled with longing.
"I couldn't be away from you anymore." The words slipped out before Maura realized she had said them out loud. Jane turned from where she was pulling on her tank top to search Maura's face. "I'm going to use the bathroom and then I'll be out shortly." Maura's quick strides carried her into the bathroom before shutting the door and leaning back against it. Okay Maura, get yourself together. She stepped out of her pumps and unzipped her dress, sliding the tight material down over her hips before draping it over the shower door. Pulling on the familiar clothes that now smelled wonderfully like Jane's laundry detergent, she moved to the sink and splashing some water on her face, she looked at her reflection before returning to Jane.
The brunette was flopped out on top of the bed, her eyes closed, but Maura could tell from her breathing pattern that she was awake. She eased onto the bed, lying beside her friend, shifting her body around to get comfortable. She settled in on her side, her head propped up on one of her hands. Maura looked at the woman next to her. God, she's beautiful. As her hazel eyes drifted over the other woman's body, she noticed the breaths Jane was taking were getting shallower and more frequent.
"Jane." Jane shook her head and refused to open her eyes, screwing them shut even tighter, and Maura softened her voice. "Jane." She reached out a hand to brush the back of her knuckles over Jane's arm, and that was all it took. Jane's eyes flashed open, and as Jane finally looked at Maura, really looked at her, Maura could read every single thought in Jane's mind through those warm brown eyes. There were tiny little rivers of red running through Jane's bloodshot eyes, and Maura put all second thoughts aside as she opened her arms to the other woman. She could feel Jane's body quaking silently, and as Jane settled into her arms, she ran her fingers through the tangled mop of brown curls once more.
"I know, Jane. I'm here. It's alright." Maura soothed the detective with a low, murmuring voice, and after a few minutes she felt Jane's breathing return to normal. Maura could feel the detective's warm breath on her chest, and Jane snuggled in closer to Maura, their thighs now touching as Jane wrapped her fingers in Maura's shirt. The ME felt Jane's breathing even out, and her eyelids began to get heavy as she settled down further into the pillow. Jane whimpered and let out a series of quiet mewls as she burrowed into Maura's side in her sleep. Maura's last thoughts before drifting off were that she would be content going to sleep like this for the rest of her life.
Jane woke first with her internal alarm clock, and she was quite aware of the warm body beneath her. She inhaled slightly before opening her eyes, both senses giving her the same conclusion. Maura. The ME's arm had dropped in her sleep, but her hand was still resting on Jane's back protectively, and Jane smiled. I could wake up like this forever. Moving carefully, so as not to disturb Maura, Jane rolled out from the bed, and walked toward the shower, casting one last wistful look at the beautiful woman in her bed, blonde hair strewn across the pillow and her mouth parted ever so slightly in sleep. Jane had not missed the quiet whimper and furrowing of her eyebrows when she had moved out from under her arm, and Maura had gathered the sheets closer to her in an attempt to regain contact with something. Turning the bathroom door handle and shutting it noiselessly, Jane stripped down quickly, moving Maura's dress to the counter and turning on the shower head, she wished that she didn't have to leave Maura so soon. She showered in under five minutes, years of practice of getting ready within minutes to make it to a crime scene leaving their mark, and pulled on a pair of dark gray slacks and a yellow v neck t shirt and padded out of the bathroom. The beautiful ME was still asleep, and Jane moved beside her, leaning down and pressed her lips softly to Maura's cheek, and the smaller woman's muscles twitched into a tiny smile, and Jane grinned before grabbing her service piece and shield from the bedside table.
Maura's cell phone woke her from her sleep, the quiet sound of birds chirping was the programmed ringer. She stretched, her limbs tangled in the sheets, and she encountered no resistance as she did so. Confused, Maura opened her eyes to find herself alone. Swinging her legs down from the bed, she noticed that the drawer of Jane's bedside table was open and her gun and badge missing. It was Monday morning, and Jane was gone. The realization hit her like a slap in the face, and she felt her heart sink. She knew Jane had to go to work and knew that she shouldn't take it personally, but she wished Jane would have at least woken her and said goodbye. Sighing dejectedly, Maura pulled back the covers and swung her legs to the floor and went to the bathroom and found her dress hanging over the shower bar. At least her dress wasn't wrinkled. Maura stepped daintily into the bright dress, deft fingers locating the side zipper and securing the small clasp under her arm. Maura scrutinized her appearance in the bathroom mirror, and a flash of color caught her eye. There was a Post-It stuck to the bottom corner of the mirror, and pulling it towards her, Maura saw that it was in Jane's typical scrawl.
Good morning,
Don't worry, you look perfect.
I didn't want to wake you, but there's coffee
in the pot, and cereal in the cupboard. Sorry, only
Corn Flakes. Meet me for lunch today? Text me.
Jane
Maura smiled back at her reflection; Jane always so intuitively managed to know what she was thinking, even when they weren't even in the same room. Running her hands down her dress, smoothing invisible wrinkles, Maura slipped her feet carefully into her heels that were right were she left them last night. She walked back into the bedroom, pausing at the door to gaze back at the room before heading to the coffee pot. A disposable coffee cup was placed next to the coffee maker, and Maura felt a grin break out on her face. Jane must have set it out for her. Smiling at the detective's thoughtfulness, Maura filled her cup and secured the accompanying lid on and grabbed her blazer from the back of one of the barstools. Her heels clicked across the floor and, making sure the door was locked behind her, Maura made her way out of the apartment building to her car. Going down the cement steps towards her Prius that was parked out front, Maura noticed a dark car with tinted windows directly across the street. Hastening her pace, she hurried to her car, fumbling nervously in her purse for her keys. Maura's fingers found the key ring, her eyes trained on the sinister looking vehicle, and tore her gaze down to the door handle of her own car, hands shaking as she tried to get the key in to unlock the blue car. She was painfully aware of her heartbeat, which was now pounding in her ears, and finally she got her key in the car. Maura pulled the door open quickly, folding herself down and into the car. Reaching her hand out to pull the door shut and simultaneously putting the key in the ignition, Maura didn't notice the large hand that shot out to wrap around the car door.
Cliffhanger, I know! Please review and let me know your thoughts on how the story is progressing, and any suggestions or constructive critiques would be much appreciated! What did you think about the exchange between Jane and Dean? I don't like him at all, but I don't feel it's in his character to be mean to Jane. Sorry if the dialogue between them is confusing; there is more to that story than what has been revealed so far. Let me know what you like and what you don't! Thanks for reading!